The wave of resignations is starting to wreak more havoc on American restaurant chains, which are trying to recover from the blow during the pandemic.
This week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the dropout rate in the food service industry was 6.8%, compared with an overall withdrawal rate of 2.9%. Gregory Francfort, an analyst at Guggenheim, points out that the exit rate in the catering services sector is much higher than the peak of 5 per cent in 2006 and 2019 and the average of 4.1 per cent over the past 20 years.
In August, nearly 4.3 million Americans quit their jobs as many sought higher wages, lifestyle changes or a lack of affordable child care during the pandemic recovery.
Workers continue to leave the retail and catering industries as labour shortages and other measures, such as mask requirements for customers, pose a challenging demand for existing staff. Since turnover rates in these industries have remained high throughout the pandemic, both will continue to be restricted. DataTrek, an investment research firm, pointed out in a research note to clients that there is a lack of available people willing to do these jobs. Given the size of these two industries, this will continue to put pressure on overall employment.